John Cena knows exactly what happens when WWE fans get sick of seeing the same guy win over and over, because he lived through it for years. Now Cena believes Roman Reigns could eventually create the same kind of audience backlash that helped push CM Punk and Daniel Bryan into much bigger spots.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Cena was asked whether LA Knight has any real chance of beating Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank. Cena refused to completely shut the door on it, joking that nothing is impossible in wrestling when he once lost to Kevin Federline.
“I never say never, and that’s coming from someone who lost to Kevin Federline. Because of moments like that, I think it’s a never-say-never situation.”
Cena then compared Roman’s current run to the stretch of his own career where fans already assumed the ending before the bell even rang. He remembered the years when signs in the crowd literally read “Spoiler alert: Cena wins,” and said he understands why fans can get frustrated when one person stays on top for a long time.
“I remember a certain existence that I had in like 2005 to 2009 where the signs read, ‘Spoiler alert: Cena wins.’ So I understand your perspective, and the math would heavily be in Roman’s favor.”
Cena also believes WWE is more willing to react to its audience now than it was under Vince McMahon. He described Vince as someone who stayed locked into his direction, while praising Triple H for keeping his eyes and ears open to what fans are responding to.
“I will say, now more than ever, I feel — just my perspective — the business is reactive to the audience and reactive to zeitgeist moments in our audience. Vince was so steadfast in his direction, and that was very important to him, and that’s how he ran things at the helm, and I respect that. I also respect Paul’s open mind, open ears and open eyes.”
Cena even suggested WWE could theoretically change a finish very late if the reaction was strong enough.
“Even though the math is heavily in Roman’s corner, I also think if there was ever a moment, in the last minute before everybody went out, or during the match, ‘Hey, we’re gonna switch the decision we made back there,’ I think it would be a situation like it is now.”
Even so, Cena made it clear he still sees Roman as the favorite, while also giving LA Knight major credit. He said Knight reminds him of himself because neither man was originally positioned as somebody’s obvious first choice.
“Gosh, I love Joe. I respect LA Knight so much. We’ve had great conversations, not only about psychology in the ring and fundamentals and how to present oneself. We kind of run similar paths as like, ‘Hey, I wasn’t anybody’s first choice, but I’m still here, man, and I’m still swinging.’”
Cena also had huge praise for Reigns, saying he belongs in his personal conversation for the greatest wrestlers of all time.
“Joe is so thought out and so smart and so intelligent and such a sponge and so great at the role he has shouldered. And my goodness, he’s in my conversation of the greatest of all time. It’s tough to bet against that when the lights are on bright.”
That is where Cena’s argument got much bigger than one Money in the Bank match. He explained that his own run taught him how constant winning can eventually create the exact fan rebellion WWE needs to build somebody else.
“The cool thing about history is history repeats itself or we can learn a lot from it. The cool thing about that John period, if you want to spoil it, John wins. Merit works. Merit in professional wrestling and sports entertainment in WWE works.”
Cena then applied that directly to Roman.
“When Roman wins enough, Roman winning will be the status quo. And the audience will move to change that. That’s what happened when you saw Bryan Danielson, Daniel Bryan, and when you saw CM Punk.”
That was Cena’s biggest point. Fans may want the change immediately, but sometimes the frustration has to sit there long enough to become impossible for WWE to ignore.
“We want these things to happen now because that’s what we feel. What I love about WWE and sports entertainment is it’s breathless. It’s moment to moment. It’s about what you give me now. I also love the history of this business. I learn from the history of this business, and I learn how to predict the future of this business.”
Cena finished by directly acknowledging the people who are tired of Roman’s dominance.
“Even if we’re in a period now where those who aren’t fans of Roman Reigns are saying, ‘What the f**? I want to see something new,’ as long as that sentiment exponentially grows, eventually they will see something new.”*
That is a pretty wild way to look at Roman’s run, but Cena has lived this exact situation before. His own dominance created years of angry fans, but that same frustration helped make stars like Punk and Bryan even hotter because people were desperate for somebody different.
Whether LA Knight becomes that guy or somebody else eventually catches fire, Cena believes the backlash itself can be valuable. The longer Roman keeps winning, the louder the demand for change gets — and history says that eventually somebody gets the chance to cash in on it.
Do you think John Cena is right that Roman Reigns winning over and over could eventually create WWE’s next CM Punk or Daniel Bryan moment? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
